Car plunges in Deerfield canal

driver taken to hospital

Emergency responders pulled a woman to safety after she drove into a canal… (Jorge Valens, Sun Sentinel )

January 27, 2012|Jorge Valens, Sun Sentinel

DEERFIELD BEACH — An elderly woman was taken to a hospital Friday after emergency responders pulled her from a submerged car at a Century Village canal, a fire rescue official said.

The incident was reported about 11:30 a.m. in the 1000 block of Ashby D at Century Village by a caller who said that an occupied car was sinking in a lake, according to Mike Jachles, spokesman for Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue.

Jachles said two arriving deputies dove into the water and were joined by four firefighter/paramedics. The rescuers used a center punch tool in order to break a window to get inside the vehicle. They were hampered by poor visibility.

When the woman was found she was brought to shore and was in full cardiac arrest, Jachles said. Aggressive advanced life support efforts and resuscitation began at the scene and continued on the way to the hospital during which time rescuers were able to restore the woman's pulse, he said.

The woman was in critical condition at North Broward Medical Center. Her identity has not been released.